How safe are Townsville streets?

If you've travelled along Ross River Road recently you may have noticed a bit of extra green.

Bikeways have been added as part of a $500,000 project to improve the safety of Townsville's roads under the State Government's Road Safety Action Plan.

Under the same plan, road barrier ends in North Ward and South Townsville will be cushioned, new line marking is planned for the Angus Smith Drive roundabout and Charters Towers Road will also see new bike lanes.

Townsville Bicycle User Group president Rebecca Ryan says the changes are positive but there's more to road safety than just bike lanes.

"It is great to see that they have put these in place and it is recognition of the popularity of Ross River Road and Charters Towers Road as a cycling commuting corridor and a sporting corridor, it does make a difference.

"But with more cars on the road we will want to see a little bit more real infrastructure in place to actually keep you safe rather than just address that perception of safety," she said.

Wider of the Rider helps cyclists feel safer

Ms Ryan says the introduction of the one metre law earlier this month has made a difference to cyclists.

"There is more awareness that cyclists are a valid transport user and over time it will really improve things," she said.

Ms Ryan says bicycles can be hard for motorists to see so the designated bike lanes and the one metre law work together to make space for and provide awareness of cyclists.

Planning for Townsville on two wheels

The Bicycle User Group is working with local school children to develop a wish list of infrastructure upgrades that will make cycling in Townsville safer and more desirable.

Ms Ryan says with half of the population of Townsville classified as obese there need to be greater incentives and urban planning developments to get people cycling.

"We need an economic stimulus to get people to choose the form of transport that is the best for the community, for the environment and for their own health," she said.

The trouble with old roads

Member for Townsville John Hathaway says the new lane markings on Charters Towers and Ross River Roads should improve safety for motorists and cyclists but when working with older roads there's often not much room to move.

"It would be ideal if we built all our roads from the get-go with this in mind, but a lot of our roads have been around for many, many years and so we are now making adjustments," he said.

Upgrades to Ross River Road and Charters Towers Road are due for completion in May, the Angus Smith Drive upgrade should be complete by mid 2014.